Champion Shaft

The Champion Shaft is a copper, silver, lead, and gold mine located in Hinsdale county, Colorado at an elevation of 10,801 feet.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Champion Shaft
Secondary: Patented Claim: Champion
Secondary: Ms 2318

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Primary: Lead
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Gemstone
Tertiary: Manganese
Tertiary: Zinc

Location

State: Colorado
County: Hinsdale
District: Park (Whitecross, Burrows Park, Adams) District

Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Hubert L. Greenback
Home Office: Valley Center, Ks.
Years: 1976 -

Owner Name: Reserve Mining Corp.
Home Office: Colorado Springs, Co.
Years: 1976 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1877
Year Last Production: 1974
Discovery Year: 1875
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Southern Rocky Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: San Juan Volcanic Field, San Juan Depression

Type: L
Description: San Juan-Uncompahgre Calderas, Lake City Caldera, Silverton Caldera, Eureka Graben

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Miocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: CDM REPORT GIVES VEIN ASSAYS OF 3 OZ/TON AG, 17% PB, 13% ZN, 4% CU

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Rhodochrosite

Comments

Comment (Location): INFO FROM LAND.ST :1977

Comment (Deposit): VEIN REPORTEDLY OCCURRED IN APPROX EAST-WEST-TRENDING VEIN CUTTING SUNSHINE PEAK MEGABRECCIA. PRIMARILY CU ORE FOUND IN LOWER WORKINGS, BUT GALENA AND CARBONATES WERE FOUND IN UPPER WORKINGS. RHODOCHROSITE GANGUE DEVELOPED TO POINT THAT SPECIMEN MATERIAL WAS RECOVERED IN LATER YEARS.

Comment (Workings): 160- TO 170-FT-DEEP SHAFT, WITH 65-FT EAST DRIFT AND 30- TO 40-FT WEST DRIFT. CDM REPORTS DESCRIBE WORKINGS AS ONE SHAFT, UPPER 25 FT VERTICAL, THENCE INCLINED FOR 200 FT AT 60 DEG, WITH LEVELS AT 100 FT AND 200 FT. AT LEAST ONE AND AS MANY AS THREE TUNNELS DRIVEN GENERALLY NORTHWARD, EXTENT UNKOWN.

Comment (Development): MINE PROBABLY WORKED IN EARLY 1870S, PRODUCTION MADE IN 1877. BY 1883, IT WAS ONE OF BEST DEVELOPED MINES IN DISTRICT. NEW TUNNEL DRIVEN IN 1885, ENCOUNTERING PB ORE HIGHER THAN CU ORE FOUND IN LOWER WORKINGS. IN 1890S, SOME ORE SHIPPED TO MILL AT SHERMAN. SHAFT, WITH DRIFTS AND CROSSCUTS COMPLETED BY 1901, YEAR IN WHICH MINE CLOSED DUE TO MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS. MINE REOPENED IN 1916 BUT CLOSED AGAIN BY 1923. 25 SHORT TONS OF DEVELOPMENT ORE PRODUCED IN 1974. SOME SPECIMEN RHODOCHROSITE PRODUCED FOR MINERAL DEALERS IN 1976. MINE REMAINED CLOSED AND IN LITIGATION.

Comment (Production): PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. MINE PREVIOUSLY WORKED IN 1923, BUT FIGURES FOR 1923 AND PRIOR YEARS UNAVAILABLE.

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1870S

References

Reference (Deposit): BROWN, W.H., 1926, THE MINERAL ZONES OF THE WHITE CROSS DISTRICT AND NEIGHBORING DEPOSITS IN HINSDALE COUNTY, COLORADO: MINES MAG., V. 15, NO. 11, P. 5-15.

Reference (Deposit): LIPMAN, P.W., 1976, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LAKE CITY CALDERA AREA, WESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-962.

Reference (Deposit): WOOLSEY, L.H., 1907, LAKE FORK EXTENSION OF THE SILVERTON MINING AREA, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 315, P. 26-30.

Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPTS. AND ANNUAL OPERATOR REPT.

Reference (Deposit): KRASOWSKI, D.J., 1976, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF BURROWS PARK, HINSDALE COUNTY, COLORADO: COLORADO STATE UNIV. M.SC. THESIS, 111 P.

Reference (Deposit): HOLMES, R.W., AND KENNEDY, M.B., 1983, CHAMPION MINE, IN MINES AND MINERALS OF THE GREAT AMERICAN RIFT (COLORADO-NEW MEXICO): NEW YORK, VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD CO., P. 185-186.

Reference (Production): COLORADO DIV. MINES ANNUAL OPERATOR REPT.

Colorado Mining Photos

Check out this collection of Colorado's best historic mining photos: Incredible Photos of Colorado Mining Scenes.